An environmentally sustainable voltammetric sensor for simultaneous detection of paracetamol and phenol

Phenol (Phen) and phenolic compounds are major pollutants that can be found in water resources in high prevalence. Paracetamol (Para) is one of the water-soluble phenolic compounds. Due to its uncontrollable worldwide use for the treatment of fever and pain, it can be found in water resources at high concentration levels. Herein, a disposable electrochemical sensor that is capable of simultaneous detection of Para and Phen was introduced. The oxidation signals of Para and Phen were measured by the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique using electrochemically pretreated pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs). Two well-defined peaks were obtained at +0.300 V and +0.575 V that represented the Para and Phen signals, respectively. Limit of detection (LOD) values were estimated to be 1.44 µg/mL (9.53 µM) and 0.11 µg/mL (0.73 µM) in 5-20 µg/mL and 1.00-2.00 µg/mL concentration levels of Para, respectively. The LOD values of Phen were 1.09 µg/mL (11.58 µM) and 0.42 µg/mL (4.46 µM) in 5-25 µg/mL or 1-5 µg/mL concentration levels, respectively. Selectivity of the sensor was tested in the presence of different interferents, and the electrochemical sensor performance in real samples such as distilled water, tap water, drinking water, and wastewater was tested. The environmental sustainability of the sensor was also investigated by the evaluation of greenness level. This is the first study in the literature for simultaneous detection of Phen and Para using electrochemically pretreated PGEs and the DPV technique.